Reliance may launch Fresh Plus by August

NEW DELHI: Reliance Retail's fresh fruit and vegetable foray is going to be christened Fresh Plus. According to sources, the launch of Fresh Plus is expected in August or September. This follows Reliance's decision to go in for acquisitions in the retail space after preliminary talks with strong regional players.

Reliance is also planning to ramp up its presence in the entire agri-foods segment, along with players like Pantaloon, Godrej, Bharti, Ballarpur, DSCL and Mahindra & Mahindra. No response was forthcoming to the ET e-mail sent to the Reliance spokesperson.Sources say Reliance has already charted a course for its Fresh Plus venture by investing around Rs 4,000 crore in Punjab and Haryana. The company is believed to be in the process of tying up 900 acres of land in Punjab and is reported to be partnering with farmers to source fresh fruits, vegetables, food grains and processed foods directly.

Meanwhile, on the retail front, Reliance is believed to be scouting for acquisitions after a soft launch of its retail operations through the Maharashtra government-owned ubiquitous Sahakari Bhandar.

The company is said to be looking at similar arrangements with co-operatives in Delhi. One of the other likely tie-ups is with Kendriya Bhandar, which is a central government Employees Consumer Co-operative Society.

Partnerships with government-owned retail outlets not only allow Reliance to tap into an existing consumer base but also give it visibility at some of the best retail points across the country.

Reliance Retail plans to open 5,500 outlets across the country. In a letter to his shareholders, Reliance chief Mukesh Ambani said: "Reliance is planning a pan-India footprint of multi-format retail outlets to provide customers with choice in products and services.

All the outlets will be connected seamlessly through a state-of-the-art supply chain infrastructure. This initiative has been assiduously planned to connect the Indian farmer and producer with the consumer directly."